Manuscripts Experiences with Eric Koester

By the time that you are listening to this, I should be in Florence, Italy visiting my daughter who is studying abroad. I’ve never been to Italy, and by extension of that I’ve never been to Florence, so there is going to be a lot to experience while there. Hopefully there will be some fun tales to tell afterwards! Having stories to tell is different from being able to tell stories. It is an art to be able to tell a good story, one that not only keeps people engaged, but also transmits some knowledge or lesson as well. Stories are one of the best ways to share knowledge in a way that is relatable and impactful.  One of the things that I have learned from doing this podcast is that everyone has a story to tell. I also have learned that sometimes people need some assistance telling their story. That can be limited to just some conversational prompts on a podcast, or a longer-term mentoring about how to put those stories in writing.  I’ve long been interested in public scholarship, taking what I know as an academic and putting it into terms that a broader public can be engaged in. As an academic, I also know that my communication style has been heavily influenced by academic writing, which if you have ever tried to read that style you will know that it isn’t conducive to engagement. So you could say I needed a little help with telling my story. That’s why I partnered with Eric Koester and his company Manuscripts. That’s also why I am having him as a guest on EXD today. Eric started Manuscripts from an experiment that he ran while teaching a college class. The assignment for all of his students was to write a book by the end of the semester. From that process came the idea of a larger effort to help people tell their stories, and that has resulted in 3500+ published authors, 350+ national and international award winners and finalists, and a 90% manuscript completion rate. I might add that Manuscripts also is a Certified B Corp!. Eric and I cover a lot of ground in this conversation. We discuss the limits of modern-day education, and how to design more impactful learning experiences. A key is to connect with people’s interests and passions. Eric shares findings from his research on inflection points in people's careers, highlighting that substantive, collaborative projects are key to achieving such points. Eric emphasizes the need for projects that can be packaged and completed, such as a 12-episode podcast season or a 200-page book, rather than starting with smaller tasks like a blog or a single podcast episode. Eric discusses the importance of systems in achieving goals, particularly in writing books and dissertations, and highlighted Manuscript's B Corp certification as part of its mission to empower underheard authors. We discuss the principles of creating knowledge movements and thought leadership through books. Eric explains that successful movement-driven books typically teach either a new type of person to aspire to be or a new type of action to aspire to do, emphasizing the importance of simplicity and intrigue. And I can say for me that working with Eric and Manuscripts has been extremely helpful in getting me to tell the stories that I have been wanting to share.  Eric Koester: https://erickoester.com/ Eric Koestler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erickoester/ Manuscripts: https://manuscripts.com/ “Super Mentors: The Ordinary Person’s Guide to Asking Extraordinary People for Help”: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Mentors-Ordinary-Persons-Extraordinary/dp/B0B5Q6V6BB